Day after fans hurt, race runs on schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Fans feeling unsafe after the terrifying crash at Daytona International Speedway a day earlier were able to change seats for NASCAR's biggest race on Sunday.

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Bethany, Adam and Paul Siems

Workers successfully repaired a section of fence - 54 feet wide and 22 feet high - that was shredded Saturday when Kyle Larson's car went airborne on the final lap of a second-tier race and crashed through the barrier that separates cars from fans. Large pieces of debris, including a tire, sprayed into the upper and lower section of the stands.

The crash the day before the Daytona 500 injured more than 30 people, raising more questions about fan safety at race tracks.

Halifax Health spokesman Byron Cogdell said seven people with crash-related injuries remained hospitalized in Daytona Beach in stable condition. The six people brought to a different Halifax hospital in Port Orange with crash-related injuries had all been discharged, Cogdell said. A spokeswoman at Florida Memorial Medical Center would not release information on the patients brought to that hospital.

Track president Joie Chitwood, meanwhile, said if any fans were uncomfortable with their up-close seating for the Daytona 500, officials would work to move them.

Larry Spencer of Nanticoke, Pa., said he wasn't sure if he wants to ever sit that low again after his 15-year-old brother, Derrick, needed three stitches in his cheek after being hit by metal debris flying from Saturday's crash. A day after sitting close to the fence, they returned with tickets dozens of rows farther away from the track.

"I thought it was just neat to see the cars going by that close," Spencer said. "After yesterday, though, I definitely will reconsider sitting lower ever again."

The tire that flew into the stands landed a couple of rows above where they had been standing. After the crash, looking around at the people seriously injured, Spencer said he decided to take his brother to a hospital himself so speedway crews and paramedics could focus on the people who needed more help.

"The only way to describe it was like a bomb went off, and the car pretty much exploded," Spencer said.

Daytona has a grandstand remodel planned. Chitwood said the injuries could prompt a redesign that might include sturdier fences or stands further away from the on-track action.